"My name is Ai. I'm your elder sister that takes care of you since the car accident that killed our parents three years ago," Misaki announced firmly as the sign to Kareko Village came in to view. "Killua, your name is Riku. Gon is your twin sister, Rin. Our business in the village is to establish a nice, traditional home in which to raise you children."
"Is that a strong enough story to really convince them?" Killua skeptically asked as he attempted to side swipe the long, brunette bangs of his wig out of his eyes with his fingers.
"Kareko Village is generally old fashioned," Haku explained, flicking his fake, deep blue ponytail back over his shoulder. "Most of its population is composed of those who seek what other societies may now see as outdated. Things like arranged marriages, all-male supremacists, and female inferiority is what we'll be encountering here."
Gon's stunned expression seemed to freeze on his face as the wheels in his head accelerated madly to translate Haku's speech.
Killua, taking note of this, leaned in and whispered to the artificial blonde, "So basically don't argue with any boys, only speak when you're asked to, and just smile and curtsy a lot."
"Oh," Gon murmured aloud in understanding, nodding his head slowly. After a moment, he questioned, "What about Haku-san?"
With a less than pleased tone, Misaki replied, "Haku-san's name is now Daisuke. We're husband and wife, which our parents arranged for me before they died."
"So that means Haku will be the one doing most of the talking with the villagers if he's the man of the house, right?" Killua asked with a calculated angle to his expression.
"Yes," the girl responded hollowly.
The contents of their conversation one day prior led Killua to believe that Misaki was likely as miffed about the great importance of Haku's role in their facade as he was. Since the man's selfish plot during their visit to Tanzanite, only Gon appeared to have faith in Haku's apology and supposed wish for redemption. This alone was unnerving to the boy, who could not particularly see the benefit of traveling with one who was quite possibly out to sabotage them.
The silver haired boy mussed about the hairs of his brown wig (or rather what was originally Gon's wig) and narrowed his eyes at the back of the girl's head. Did she see something advantageous to Haku's presence among them that he could not? He was always so cautious and thorough in his evaluations- it was his nature- so what could he have possibly overlooked here?
"You look terribly young to have children that are almost teenagers," a pale, middle-aged woman in a red and white checkered dress mentioned doubtfully.
While Haku was chatting apart from the group with a gentleman that apparently lived next door to the house they were to be renting (as it turned out Kareko Village really did have no hospitality towards travelers and consequently no accommodation services like hotels), the remainder were left with the wife. Her hair was brown with natural highlights of grey, indicating either her age or her condition of health and mind, and her eyes darted from the two boys back to Misaki, whom she had been addressing. Despite her prodding, Misaki upheld her composure quite well, nodding her head slightly in a feigned sign of respect. Her hands were placed within the two side pockets of her attire.
"I'm not their mother, I'm afraid," she explained softly. "Our parents met an untimely end in an accident a few years ago. I'm Ai, their older sister."
"Oh," the woman replied in a tone that seemed fairly short. With an obviously forced smile, she said, "I'm Mei and that is my husband, Bao." In a proud whisper, she added, "He's the mayor of Kareko Village."
"I wasn't sure villages had mayors," Gon chimed in, innocently vocalizing his thoughts.
"Rin!" Misaki reprimanded him quickly, tilting her head in his direction.
Scrambling to correct his mistake, Gon grasped the outermost seams of his dress and crossed his ankles, dipping at the knee.
"I'm sorry, oneesan," he offered in a higher pitched voice than usual, hoping his response had been the appropriate one.
The woman called 'Mei' shook her head condescendingly.
"My, what a rude little girl," she sneered. Turning to Gon, she asked, "Can you not see that adults are speaking?"
Before Gon had even a chance to feel the pressure to perform again, Misaki stepped between the two boys and gently clasped a hand in each of her own.
"That's why we're here; to reeducate the children," the artificially silver-haired girl lied. "While it was a pleasure meeting you, Daisuke does not enjoy waiting for his dinner, so we really must be getting inside."
The three turned in unison and retreated in to the house before the woman could think up a viable excuse to hinder them.
"…A village meeting?" Killua echoed between spoonfuls and Haku nodded enthusiastically in response.
"Yes. Bao-san said that it is common practice for one man per household to attend. There may be a clue there as to what exactly L.I.G.H.T. is or does, so I think it's in our best interest."
The blue eyed boy shook his head in an attempt to sweep the false bangs from his eyes before half-squinting in disdain toward the man.
"That means you'll be the one that goes then?" he inquired.
"There's no other choice," Misaki answered for him. Turning to Haku, she asked, "When is it?"
"Fifteen minutes from now," Haku replied, leaping from his seat. "Oh, I'd better get going!"
"Good luck," the girl called after him as he rushed through the door.
She slowly rose from her position and followed the invisible path which Haku had taken from the table. With focused features, she watched him from the empty doorway as he disappeared around a corner in the otherwise quiet street, with every intention of closing the door once he'd vanished from sight.
The sensation of heavily fixated, prying eyes overwhelmed her senses suddenly. She shuddered slightly, a mixture of excitement and discomfort swimming in her blood. Scanning the dimly lit alley for the perpetrator, Misaki's heart did a single hammer-pound against her ribcage. This feeling was not foreign to her, though she was stunned to find herself locking stares with a man, half concealed in the shadows, who from this distance looked almost uncannily like the man she had killed under contract the night she had met…
"Stay here, I'll be right back," Misaki ordered over her shoulder.
Killua appeared to have caught wind of her shift in muscular balance, and he was now leaning forth in her direction from his chair, alert. He'd expected her to unveil what ever plan she had obviously concocted in regards to Haku's attendance at the "meeting", and realized now that she was instead highly distracted by something that rendered her discontented enough to tense up immediately in result.
"What is it?" Gon asked her seriously, mimicking his friend's subtle physical inclinations toward a premeditated, offensive reaction.
Misaki nearly ignored the question, though not intentionally. She was half lost in the wrinkles of the elderly man's distinctive face. His long, salt and pepper beard curled inward at the tips, brushing against his knee caps as the evening breeze reared up. The deep furrow below his bushy, white brows, the long, broken crease that angled across his forehead, the "X" shaped scar on the apple of his right cheek…
"Just wait for me here, I'm going to check something out," the girl insisted before exiting the house.
Killua scowled deeply as she vanished behind the door, well aware that something was not right about Misaki's behavior, which had certainly deviated from her norm. Nonetheless he remained seated at his comrade's side, unsure of whether it would be a good idea to trail the girl or not.
"Should we follow her?" Gon asked earnestly.
The boys eyed one another for several long moments in silence.
Misaki followed the familiar outer shell of the elderly man through the many nooks and crannies of the alleyway. Once he finally stopped, she rested a light palm on his forward-hunched shoulder blade, massaging under the curve of the bone with the heel of her hand.
"Why did you come here? Is the telephone too informal?" she questioned with a smirk.
Turning to reveal two ominous, black pools where his eyes should be, the man replied in an emotionless voice, "You did not respond to my messages."
"I have to say, I'm extremely impressed that you managed to find us out here," Misaki admitted, running her fingers through her silvery wig.
"Come with me," he commanded passively.
Dropping her lids to half mass, the girl said, "Come with you where, exactly? I'm right in the middle of your contract, remember?"
The worn fingers coiled her wrist, drawing her attention back in to him. There was a very slight gleam in the dark, glassy orbs now, and her face flushed mildly at the rush of adrenaline that released at the sight. She knew all too well what he meant.
"Oh," she mumbled as a knowing smile forced itself on to her lips. She lowered her gaze almost shyly and protested in a saddened tone, "The boys will grow suspicious if I'm gone too long..."
This hardly seemed to act as a deterrent, and once again the dull voice repeated, "Come with me."
Despite the determined insistence of her mind, which whispered rather loudly over and over the inner turmoil of her loyalties and whether or not her actions were or had been appropriate, Misaki forcibly blocked it out. Right here, right now, she could not allow herself to be swayed one way or the other; this was most important thing at this very moment.
'When in doubt, look to what you know for certain,' she thought persistently.
Routine; yes, decidedly it was appropriate to fall in to routine.
As she stepped to the cleverly disguised Illumi's side and journeyed with him away from the village, she allowed herself to mentally murmur only one, solitary thought before ultimately numbing her brain and focusing on little more than the sound of her footfalls in the frost:
'Forgive me, Kil'.